From the start I liked the premise of the book. The storyline was intriguing: all along you know someone dies, but you don’t know who or when, how or why. I especially enjoyed the snippets of interviews sprinkled throughout the book. I find it fascinating how different people can see the same event and come back with different views of what happened. I remember a lesson in high school that set up a car accident, with different students set around it. Then we were “interviewed” to say what happened. We all had different views because of past experiences, where we were standing and our own opinions about who was involved. “Truth” is not so easily found.

Or you could ask any of my siblings about different parts of our childhood and even though we were all raised in the same house by the same parents, we all have different thoughts and views on events in our lives.

Unfortunately, I felt the book strongly needed an editor. It felt too long, though I’m not sure what I would cut where. It was slow at times and even though I whipped through it, I still felt it could have been polished a bit more. I don’t think I’d recommend the book to a friend, I’d tell them to read “What Alice Forgot” instead.

Still, I enjoyed the book overall. I think on Goodreads I gave it a 3 out of 5 but honestly if they let you do half-stars I’d have given it a 2.5. Here are some questions that I found through Penguin Books and some I came up with myself as I was reading.

Q: There are a lot of scenes in which the characters say they wish they could be violent: Jane says she wants to throw Ziggy into the wall when he has a tirade in the bathtub, that she would hit Renata if she was in front of her, and then she stops just short of kicking Harper. Do you think the author is trying to show the reader Perry’s side and have us sympathize with him? Or, rather, that feeling violent is a natural impulse but one that people learn to suppress?

A: I think this is an interesting question. As I was reading, I didn’t feel that the author was attempting to make us sympathize with Perry but after I read it and saw this question I thought it was a possibility. While Perry was obviously a troubled man, things aren’t black and white and no one is all bad or all good (ok, there may be a few exceptions to that). Violence and anger are certainly natural impulses that we all have. But, as a society we learn to suppress and control those urges. I don’t sympathize with Perry. I don’t understand why someone would use their own strength and power to control or bring down another individual. I also don’t believe in his apologies and promises that things would be different.

Q: When Ziggy has to do his family tree, Madeline comments, “Why try to slot fractured families into neat little boxes in this day and age?” [p. 184] A lot of Madeline’s storyline is about the complications that arise from the merging of new modern families. What kind of problems exist among families and extended families now that didn’t when you were a child?

A: This is a question I find myself thinking about a lot. There are so many changes in the world from when I was a child, and some things that I only now am realizing were prevalent when I was a child but was sheltered from. I was raised in a very strictly religious family. I didn’t know anyone who was gay. I’m sure I knew some divorced people but I honestly don’t remember any specifically.

Now, my parents are divorced. I’m in a serious relationship with a divorced man who has a child. I have friends who are gay and have adopted children and I know single women who were artificially inseminated so they could raise a child on their own.

I laugh when people say Family = Mom + Dad + Kids. A family can be defined in so many ways. The questions of the family tree in the book (how to put Ziggy’s dad, if Chloe should include her half-sister’s dad and his new family) were such a beautiful way to bring out that families aren’t as simple as they used to be defined.

Q: Bonnie says, “We see. We fucking see!” [p. 421] Were you surprised to learn about Bonnie’s history? Were you surprised to discover that all along Max had been seeing what Perry was doing to Celeste?

A: Bonnie. I related to Bonnie a lot in this book, the first impression being she’s the new wife and Madeline was afraid of Abigail loving her more (I’m sure Molly’s mom isn’t afraid of that, and I try to help show I’m not in any way replacing her, but still). It felt like she was trying so hard to make harmony amount the various members of the family. She wanted things to be peaceful and to work out. I was surprised by her past, but then thought that it explained a lot her peacemaker mentality.

I wasn’t surprised that Max had witnessed Perry’s actions. Kids see more than adults think. Kids are smarter than adults think. Kids are affected more by things around them than adults think.

Q: At one point in the book, Susi says that, in Australia, one woman dies every week because of domestic violence. In the United States, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day. Every nine seconds in the United States a woman is assaulted or beaten. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than that caused by car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Are you surprised by these statistics? Why or why not? Clearly, the author chose Celeste—the picture-perfect mom and/ wife as well as an educated lawyer—to be the victim of domestic violence in order to make a point. Do you think it’s plausible that someone like her would fall victim to abuse such as this?

A: I loved the ending when Celeste spoke about being a victim of abuse and the final words, “This can happen to anyone.” Abuse doesn’t only happen in low-income homes. I also loved that the other speaker was a man; abuse doesn’t only happen to women. The statistics are heartbreaking and I do feel that books like this, ones that use their platform to bring awareness, are keys to helping end the abuse and violence in the world.

Q: Madeleine is admittedly bitter about Nathan’s desertion of her and newborn Abigail 14 years ago, and understandably annoyed that now Abigail is choosing him and his new wife over her. Do you have any experience, direct or indirect, with co-parenting? Does this scenario and Madeleine’s feelings strike a chord with you?

A: A big, resounding yes. As a new stepmother, I’m learning all about co-parenting! I don’t relate to Madeline’s specific scenario, but I do understand the challenges of trying to raise a child where there are multiple people involved, who all have different ideas of what is best and how to do things.

Q: Did you ever suspect Saxon Banks was Perry? When did you begin to suspect?

A: No. I wish I had seen it, I blame myself for reading too fast and not thinking enough. I’m very curious if anyone else saw that coming.

Q: Did you think Ziggy was the bully? Did you think he was being bullied? Did you suspect it was really Max?

A: Never. Ziggy never seemed like a bully or a liar and I knew it couldn’t be him. I didn’t think he was being bullied either. I did suspect Max (or the other twin); as in the answer above, I figured at least one of the twins witnessed their parent’s behaviors and felt that was a much more likely culprit for bullying than sweet Ziggy.

Did you have anything particularly resonate with you as you read? Which character(s) did you most relate to? Please feel free to answer any of the above questions, or any of your own questions, in comments below.

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